When You Were Here

Thank You For Staying And Again...

Saturday, 20 August 2011

Back and yay, yay! I can write for a while longer tonight because Mama has given me one of the two oil lamps in the house. Everyone else is outside by the pond chatting with OM, even Baby who invariably falls asleep in no time at all, nestled between Mama's breasts to the sound of all their voices. Mama says it is because he feels secure in the company of his family and so our voices makes the best lullaby in the world for him.

Ah look! The last amber in the stove has just died and the kitchen is even quieter now that the logs have stopped hissing. I can still smell dinner, a most fulfilling affair that left everyone contented because Mama made her famous curry fish head. Another deep breath...and I can feel the cool air on my back and hmmmmmm, The Evening's Bouquet. Oh, oh, oh, here it comes! This sudden surge of happiness I always get at moments like these. I call them my perfect moments, you know, times when you think life is good and nothing can go wrong and everyone loves me and I love everyone and we are all together and the night is just at its best.

I am so happy I am even happy with you, Pencil. I think you are priceless! Papa made you from a sliver of granite and he took ages sharpening you against the wall. A piece of soft paper is glued around you so that my hand won't be stained when I write and then when I need to sharpen you some more, I just tear the top part of the paper off. Papa is now thinking of a way to encase you in wood. I think Papa is just the smartest man in the world, after grandpa OM of course, who made many, many things for the house.

Like this tinderbox for instance which he made a long time ago. Although it is already old, rusty and dirty, I still think it is a work of art. And I love playing with what's inside. Just last month, Mama decided that I was responsible enough to make fire on my own and she taught me how to. What she did not know was that I already knew how a year ago. OM taught me and told me that the lesson was his present to me for my 8th birthday. I was not supposed to tell Mama though. Well, at least, I don't have to do it in secret anymore.

OM made our plate rack too. The plate rack is HUGE and it took all four of us, Papa, Mama, OM and me, two full days just to put it up. So many "Oh my"s were said that O-My is now OM's nickname. OM said we had to make a GIANT plate rack because well, we have so many plates. And despite its size, the rack nearly wasn't big enough to fit our biggest which Mama used only during special occasions.

But Mama was too clever. She suggested that we placed the dish at an angle with its head touching the ceiling. And it worked! Now, our rack holds all the plates with the biggest fitting snugly into the highest shelf. These days, whenever Mama wants to tell someone "every problem has a solution", she says "when you run out of wall space, use the ceiling". I think Mama is the BRAIN of the family and that she is the smartest one of all.

I love watching the rack at the end of the day when all the plates are cleaned and neatly stacked and everything looks ...oops! Is that curry stain I see on that 1st plate in the 3rd shelf? Mama is going to give me an earful tomorrow when she sees this.

I am so sleepy now, Diary, I can hardly open my eyes. I am going to bed but tomorrow, I will tell you the kitchen pieces that I love the most. They are all made by Mama and I am so proud of her.

SANS! I Was Missing YOU! And now I know it was Worth the WAIT! This new Story and Storyteller is Enchanting! And the WORK you have done on the Kitchen is.... Awesome! The plate shelf and the stove... and the Tinderbox!! Oh, I LOVE it all! And the Pictures you have taken are just TOP Rate! So Beautiful and Moody and rich with all the details you have worked so hard and long to achieve! I am just AMAZED at the details you include! That Tinderbox is JUST PERFECT! And I LOVE the story you are telling! Thank you for another rich layer of mini-world!

You know why I love to read every your post and see all your photos, dear Sans? Because all of the miniatures you show - I know it for sure - are made of love! Love for miniatures, for India, for people... All of these I can see in all the tiny detiles you pay attention to. And the photos are just fab!Love the light there:)(But I wouldn't want to have to wash all these dishes...;D)

Patricia, don't want to sound like a sexist but it is hard to beat mamas when it comes to being the brains around the house. And I don't mean intelligent brain but a clever one-quick witted, crafty, thinking out of a box sometimes even a little sly (heh heh..not a bad thing if you ask me) And when she is also creative and artistic and kind, that's almost superhuman! :) I am sure you will agree with me :).

But guess what I found ?

"Dads have come out on top of a new survey which asked children who they thought was the cleverest person in the world. One in four (27%) children felt that their Dad was the smartest of all, with Mum's [sic] just behind with one in five (19%) of the votes.

However, the gloss may have been taken off the victory for Mums and Dads, with some of the other results confirming that children say the funniest things. David Beckham was perceived to be a clever clogs by one in six (17%) --UKparents.co.uk" hehe

Betsy my dear friend. You never fail to lift me to cloud nine with your comments. Each and every time. How can that be possible? But it is :). Thank you for your affirmation again and again.

And talking about pictures , it was so hard to take pictures of my tribal house. Especially the kitchen which has the weakest lighting because I wanted to recreate how in most village houses, the kitchen is often dimly lit. The plus point is that my pictures turned out moody as you put it.:)

Makes me so happy that you picked up the details, Bets. I am so grateful for a medium here to express and relate why I do what I do :).

Neomig, on my right hand bar, I have a widget from Mixpod.com. I label the widget "My Music" . Click through at the "i" at the bottom of the widget and go to mixpod.com. The instructions are quite clear on how to add it to your blog for music. If you need help, email me :). I will gladly walk you through it.

Ewa, when I was at the ashram, we had to wash our own thali plates (made also with metal) after each meal. Trust me, they are very easy to wash even with curry. They are just noisy at the sink.

I love these metal plates but I don't use them. My dinner plates are mainly clay bowls or plates and they are very heavy (mainly from Thailand but I also love the Japanese ceramic bowls). The dish rack will not be able to hold those bowls. :)

And thank you Ewa for the sweet words. Will you be mini-making soon? :)

As my jaw drops as usual :-O!!! Susan!!!!! Freaking AMAZING!!!! I get so excited to see some of my pieces in your scenes :-D!!! It really is a slice of real life I'm looking at. You are AMAAAAAZING, my friend!!!

Ha! Can't wait to see what Kiva have made for you!!!!Thank you, dear Sans, to be honest I truly wish I had time for minis, but unfortunately I must take care of completely different thing now:( so I will be just reading and commenting for some time, I think.

Gorgeous!!! I especially love the plate rack and the large plate leaning on the ceiling. That is what sets your work apart I think Sans- I think I would have been too nervous to put that large plate there- but it looks perfect! I just keep going back to enlarge pictures to take in more details!

Hey Kim! Yay! You are still here :):) and thank you for the feedback on the big plate. It is so good to know what fellow mini makers (what in the world do we call people like us?) feel about what I have done. I know it's not the usual thing to do but I have this big plate and I know oversize plates are used in Indian families a lot. There must be a place for them , right?

I learn to be bold with my creations from many of you. Kim, I know from what you do that you are definitely not shy when it comes to crossing boundaries. I am in love with your so over the top craft room!

Ooooh, I missed so many of your lovely stories while I was away on holiday!!! But I've enjoyed reading them all now and they are al so wonderful!!! You're the best storyteller I know! And your miniatures are magical!!! You have that touch that makes them special!!!

ME

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These blogs chronicle my journey into the wonderful world of miniatures.
"The Beginning" is the prequel to it all, the one that triggered my obsession with the weird and wonderful world of doll houses.
"My Maharajah's Palace" is a journal of the trials and tribulations en-route to the building of my Indian Palace.
"Projects, Musings & AOB" is like my workroom or scrapbook of anything minis.